Bidding Wars: Return of the Jubilation

I keep thinking I should be stressed out about this bidding process... and it is stressful. However, I have to believe that it'll all just work out. Maybe I'm super self confident, maybe I'm overly optimistic, or maybe it's because my fourth choice still has fewer bidders than positions open. Who knows. Either way, I had what will likely be my last interview today. This puts me on the short list for the top (and only) 4 posts I'm bidding on. That's a pretty good feeling.

One of the common interview questions is, of course, "where do we rank on your list." People often debate whether they should lie (tell every post they’re your favorite) or how to obfuscate their answer. I refuse to lie about this and I want to be as transparent as possible. I've told pretty much everyone where I'm bidding and the order. However... my preference order is a bit nebulous. My top two posts (Reykjavik and Ho Chi Min City) are both places I would go in a heartbeat. As I see it, it has less to do with which I'd prefer and more to do with who is willing (or able) to commit to me first. This will put me in for an awkward position if I'm offered both (at the same time) and am forced to choose. Otherwise, I'll take whichever comes up and consider myself lucky; they're both great posts and I'll have successfully navigated my first open bidding cycle!

Regardless, with some good interviews (and lucky intersections between who I know and who the people at the posts I'm bidding know), I am feeling fairly confident that I'm going somewhere I want to go. It's impossible to know until we get that official handshake (or the unofficial air kiss), but I'm not sweating a little more waiting. It seems like waiting is the name of the foreign service game.

Bidding Wars: A New Hope

Good news, everyone! Today's twist on the roller coaster of bidding is: I made the short list* for one of my top posts. Pretty crazy to go from hearing essentially nothing to having two interviews and being told you've been short listed in... a couple days. As I said before, being #2 on a short list is meaningless if the #1 accepts the position, but it's still encouraging. Even more encouraging is that the post has two openings, effectively doubling my chances of getting a handshake. Either way, I'll continue attempting to contact (politely and not too frequently, of course) the posts I'm interested in and hope for the best. What else can I do?


* The short list is the vetted list of candidates that a post sends to the bureau as their preferences for filling the position.

Bidding Wars: Revenge of the Silence

Well, almost two weeks into the five week bidding cycle, I have to say the silence is deafening. Either the posts I'm talking to are moving slowly... or I'm doing it wrong! Talking to my cohort-mates, who appear to be interviewing left and right (some with the very posts I'm lobbying), I'd guess it must be the latter.

The bidding process is seriously opaque (at best), and shortening the bidding season from 3 months to just 5 weeks this year has thrown all past expectations up in the air. I'll keep waiting, I guess. My consolation is that I'm one of the only bidders for two of my choices. Of course... being #2 means nothing if they take #1. We'll see!

Second Tour Assignment Update

Good news, everybody! We get to wait another week before learning the results of our bidding. I know what you were all thinking... "One week of suspense wasn't nearly enough, we really need to eek out as much anticipation as possible!"

All joking aside, it was kind of a bummer to get the e-mail announcing the delay, but that's how it goes. This is still only a taste of what we'll have to go through next bidding cycle, when we're not entry level anymore. It'll make this year's four weeks start-to-finish look like a cake walk!

Update: I got assigned!

Bids Away!

Map Courtesy of Jeff

Might as well continue my song-based bidding posts.


Yesterday, we listed places that are far away.
Now it looks as though we’ll wait for days.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I’m not as stressed as I used to be.
There’s no shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Where we get to go, I don’t know, they wouldn’t say.
I bid somewhere strong, now I long for next Thursday.

Next Thursday, the results will be on display
Now I need a place to pass the days
Oh I believe in next Thursday.

Where we get to go, I don’t know, they wouldn’t say.
I bid somewhere strong, now I long for next Thursday.

Next Thursday, is when the results are on display
Now I need a place to pass the days
Oh I believe in next Thursday.

On a more serious note: Yesterday we submitted our second tour bid list consisting of 42 positions, in 37 countries. We're told we'll get the results no later than next Thursday. The person assigning second tours tries to give priority to people currently in more difficult posts. Chennai is in the upper middle in terms of "difficult," so we should get assigned somewhere between 15th and 25th. We learned in our last bidding cycle that everyone has different priorities... so there's always a chance we'll all get our first pick (but it's highly unlikely)! Anyway, now I get a throw-back to last year (and the year before) as I reacquaint myself with my old nemesis: The Waiting Game.

Diplomatic Passport Applications

Success! After almost a month of procrastinating, I took advantage of having the morning off to drag my family down to DC to submit our applications for our 'black' passports. I was starting to worry about the timing between getting my passport, applying for our visas and our planned departure, fortunately the woman at the desk assured me that I had plenty of time. Now I begin to eagerly await the e-mail informing me that my passport is ready to pick up! No problem there, though, I'm a pro at eagerly awaiting e-mails after the hiring process!

Security Investigator Interview

Next step down! I was interviewed by my security investigator this week. I had a stack of paperwork for him, and he went through each page and asked for clarification where necessary. The whole process is pretty painless, for me, but my friends have already started getting calls and a neighbor or two has mentioned meeting my investigator. I don’t have anything to hide, so I’m not concerned, but I’ve read online, and was warned my investigator, that the process is a slow one, so I shouldn’t be expecting anything any time soon. Honestly, although I understand that, and believe it will be awhile… my excitement increases with every step of the process. Oh well, back to waiting for now!

Oral Assessment

Best news! I successfully passed my Oral Assessment. What a roller coaster! After experiencing what I can only describe as the most intense nervousness I’ve felt in probably two decades (I’m looking at you, 8^th grade speech class) the day before my Assessment, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself calm and collected the day of. Living relatively close to DC, I was able to commute down for the day. I took the MARC and DC Metro in arriving almost an hour early to account for any possible delays. There was another IMS hopeful being assessed in parallel to me, which ended up being a blessing, because there were a handful of waiting periods that passed much quicker with some friendly chatting, than they would have staring off into space, second guessing everything. To the interviewers’ credit, the entire OA process is well documented on the Foreign Service website, and I’d say that my experience fit into their description perfectly. Being a history major, I’m no stranger to writing assignments, and I’ve always been good at standardized tests (read: multiple choice). I hate to say the first two sections ‘breezed by’ but I was much more confident in myself for those, than for the third and final part of the test. It turns out, talking is much more ‘real-time’ than typing and clicking radio buttons. The tension built as my interview-mate and I waited… and waited… for our interviewers to come collect us. After the better part of an hour, they came for him, and about one copy of State magazine later (or 10 minutes, if you'd prefer), it was my turn. The interview was as advertised, with the slight variation that there were three people present, two to interview me, and one in training, who was ostensibly observing the interviewers, rather than myself. Having a third person didn’t really matter to me, but maybe on some subconscious level it made me less nervous (maybe it leveled the playing field, since it was back to two on two, in terms of who was observing whom!). Once back in the lobby, we awaited our judgment in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere; after all, it was out of our hands now! After a moderate wait, I was called back in and congratulated on my passing the Oral Assessment and given a number (6.2, which means little to me, other than the pass/fail value, since I have no concept of its statistical significance), a conditional offer, and a new bundle of paperwork to chew through. The rest is fairly uneventful; I emphatically thanked my interviewers, spent some time with security, and started the long trip home.
Next step, security investigations, medical exams, and paperwork, Oh My! On the one hand, I know these are serious steps and can certainly end in terminated candidacies… but the other hand is just dancing around and saying, “Psh! I’m not a terrorist, I’m in great health, and I know how to fill out forms. Piece of cake!”

Pre-Interview Notification

Good news! I was contact today with a notification that I will be contacted in the future for an Oral Assessment. I was mildly confused why I was receiving an e-mail to prepare me to receive an e-mail (maybe the hiring folks at the Foreign Service are fans of Space Balls?), but I’ll take it! Of course it gave no indication of time frame, so I’m back to waiting.

 

Application Status Change

Well, it’s official. I at least passed the first round of application reviews. My application status changed today from “Submitted” to "Eligible – Referred to Next Step in Selection Process

.” Although I’m relatively sure this just means I succeeded in meeting the bare minimum requirements listed in the job req, it’s still a piece of positive news. I’m hoping for more good news in the future!

And so it begins…

My application for the Foreign Service Specialist Information Management position has been submitted. Even though this is just the beginning of the application (and hopefully hiring) process, it still seems like an epoch of sorts. After years of yearning to live and work abroad, I feel like I’ve finally put a foot in the right direction. It’s definitely one thing to talk about possibly working overseas in the future and quite another to hit submit on your application. Having reached the end of the restless waiting for an IMS req to open, and the mind numbing writing and rewriting of application essays; I can’t help but be excited. Of course that excitement will shortly be tested… by the possibility of months of waiting to hear back.

I decided to start this blog, in the off chance someone ever reads it, to let future candidates know how the application process goes. I suppose it will also, if I am eventually accepted into the Foreign Service, serve as a place to post my experiences as an Information Management Specialist. On the flip side, if I’m not accepted, I’ll probably take down the site and never speak of it again! I know this isn’t exactly an original idea, but I enjoyed reading Milestones and IM-worldwide, so here’s to paying it forward.